Trying to NOT gain the freshman 15..?

Question

So I've been away to school for the first time for about a week now. I desperately do NOT want to gain the freshman 15 and honestly would really like to LOSE some weight by november break. I have a gym membership and I plan on going at least every other day, if not more. However, I don't want to be stuck eating salads all the time but most of the food in our dining hall is not diet friendly... What can I eat besides a salad that wont be 49020948329 calories?

Answer 1

Congrats on taking some initiative. I actually stayed the same when I went away to college, but it was hard. Try signing up for a workout class. That is the surest way to keep exercising. They're credit/no credit and you usually can have several absences without hurting your grade in case you get sick or whatever. The teachers don't mind if you add the class after the first week (I just did that this week actually!).

Continue at the gym. Plan it into your schedule so you can't get around it. Consider it like another class. Otherwise it will be easy to talk yourself out of going.

I know the dining hall food isn't top notch, but there are tons of healthy things there. For example, fresh fruit and veggies at the salad bar. And usually they serve at least one side-dish of veggies at every meal. Make sure to take some of that.

I know our dining hall is really good about serving vegetarian or vegan alternatives for every meal and often that is a healthier way to go than just a burger. Try for dinner (your heaviest meal) a veggie burger and instead of fries, greenbeans (or whatever the veggie of choice). Remember it's not about starving yourself so keep some fruit or raw veggies around with you on campus for snacks.

Try plain oatmeal or a branmuffin for breakfast or just fruit. For lunch a salad, and then something a little heavier with protein for dinner. Don't forget not to eat past 8pm. And carry a water bottle around with you all the time. You'd be surprized how often you fill that thing up! Good luck!!

Answer 2

Well the freshman 15 is usually triggered by stress....so you eat more. Just stay relaxed, and have fun at college :-D

Answer 3

The gym membership is probably your biggest weapon, but here are some hints I followed, and I kept that 15 off!

1. Eat breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it starts your metabolism. Have you ever noticed that when you eat breakfast you are hungrier around lunchtime? That's because you are working through calories.

2. Fruit and vegetables. I know you don't want to eat salads all the time, but if you can snack on carrots instead of chips, that's a win. And, if you do it enough, you'll even start craving vegetables. I know, weird, but I do all the time now.

3. Grilled chicken over crispy chicken, poultry over beef.

4. 100 calorie snack packs, granola bars, and so on make great snacks. I used to buy a pack of cookies and portion them out, three to a snack baggie, so I wouldn't eat half a pack. It's more about portion control than it is about what you eat. You can eat anything in moderation.

5. Only weigh yourself once a week. Choose a day, and weigh yourself first thing in the morning, before food or shower (after using the facilities, of course) and do it on that day, at that time, every week. Weight fluctuates, beware of that.

6. Don't starve yourself. Our bodies need calories to survive. If you cut down too many calories, you will go into a survival mode and actually gain weight.

Here's my favorite website. Read the tutorial, use the calculators, and figure out what's best for you.  

Answer 4

Oatmeal for breakfast, have a whole wheat chicken sandwhich for lunch, and for dinner you can have a salad with chicken on it or some whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce.  You don't have to eat just salads. Why don't you check out a self magazine they have a lot of easy healthy recipes in there.

Answer 5

i dont think ive ever heard the freshman 15 thing, but now that i think about it i did gain about 15 pounds freshman year lol, but ive lost 10 and ive put on more muscle so its all good